Met. Saba Leads All-Night Vigil Honoring St. Raphael of Brooklyn
Faithful gather at historic St. Nicholas Cathedral, the first parish founded by the saint in 1895.
BROOKLYN — Joined by area clergy, seminarians, and faithful, His Eminence Met. Saba celebrated the All-Night Vigil of St. Raphael of Brooklyn on Friday, Oct. 31, at St. Nicholas Cathedral — the first community established by the saint in 1895.
According to the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, the vigil — which lasted more than five hours — included Great Vespers, the Litia-Artoklasia, Festal Orthros, and the Hierarchal Divine Liturgy, as well as a procession with St. Raphael’s icon and relics for veneration. Seminarians participated among both the altar servers and the chanters, lending their voices to the solemn celebration.
Met. Saba's vestments for the Hierarchal Divine Liturgy. Photo: Andrew Neel
Archpriest Thomas Zain, dean of the cathedral, expressed gratitude to Met. Saba for presiding at the service, noting the significance of His Eminence wearing the engolpion once belonging to St. Raphael, founder of what is now the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.
A full photo album of the vigil, provided by Andrew Neel, can be found here. A video of the vigil can be found here.
Previously, UOJ reported that police returned relics of St. Raphael to St. Vladimir's Seminary.
